Radiance and Abyss (3)
Radiance and Abyss (3)
Those two cannot block the Breath.
Because they're crushed under the weight of the Thousand-Hand Pressure?
No.
It's just that with their level of skill, they have no way to block or withstand my Breath.
So, in a situation like this where they can't dodge, if they get hit directly by my Breath, it's only natural that they should die without even leaving a corpse behind.
'Assuming no one interferes, that is.'
The split second right before the Breath reached them.
A brilliant light burst out, wedging itself between us.
The power used by those so-called Apostles was already beyond that of an average Valkyrie, but the light that just burst out was even greater than that.
Exuding a brightness greater than the sun of light the Belobog Apostle used a moment ago, an immense light enveloped him.
And that light erased a portion of the incoming Breath.
Seeing the light spreading from the Belobog Apostle's body, I realized it was Belobog's own power.
And not just power bestowed like an Apostle's, but Belobog's own power.
'So, he doesn't want to lose his Apostle, huh?'
I never expected a god to step in personally.
The Belobog Apostle, who survived by erasing part of the Breath.
His body, which had clearly been covered in wounds and cold sweat while enduring the Thousand-Hand Pressure, had suddenly returned to being perfectly fine, just as it was when he first appeared.
Is that also Belobog's power?
The face that had been filled with panic at my unexpected strength had now changed to a detached, expressionless look as he gazed up at me.
[Dragon]
"Belobog?"
[Indeed. O Dragon harboring hatred. I apologize for my child's rudeness a moment ago.]
"I'll accept the apology for now. But why? It's not like anything that guy said was wrong. I definitely insulted you all."
[You ask for the reason for an apology? That is unlike a dragon. If I must give a reason, it is because you possess the qualifications for it.]
The moment I made eye contact with Belobog, who had descended into the Apostle's body, I knew his gaze was piercing through not just my exterior, but my very inner self.
As expected of a god.
It feels different from Odin's eye.
Anyway, what do I do now?
It wouldn't be difficult to fight a god who has merely descended into an Apostle's body, but he went out of his way to descend just to protect this Apostle.
If I kill him just to clear the Gate's quest, I might end up openly antagonizing gods who seem to be at least on par with Freya.
That would be quite annoying.
If I knew exactly where they were, that'd be one thing, but antagonizing two gods of that caliber without knowing their locations or combat strength introduces too many variables.
You ask if I didn't think about that when I wiped out their troops earlier?
Well, I did think about it, but wiping out an Apostle who has been possessed by a god is a completely different story from wiping out regular troops.
Just like how killing a warrior of Valhalla under Odin is completely different from killing a personal Valkyrie possessed by Odin.
Tsk. This is a pain.
"What are you planning to do now? Do you intend to fight me again?"
Of course, that doesn't mean I intend to back down.
If it really comes down to it, I'll borrow the strength of Odin, Yoo Da-eun, and even Ratatoskr to track them down and wipe them out.
I didn't let my guard down just in case, and Belobog shook his head using the Apostle's body.
[I will withdraw from this war. I have no intention of being hostile toward you.]
"You're just going to back off?"
[Indeed. Fighting any further would only result in immense losses. And I do not have a hobby of driving my children to their deaths. However.]
"However?"
[Chernobog. I do not know what that one might think.]
Belobog's gaze shifted to the side.
The place his gaze turned to was where the Chernobog Apostle had been until a moment ago.
There, the Chernobog Apostle was already hidden, wrapped in a sphere of shadows.
Judging by what Belobog just said, has Chernobog also descended?
To think she could descend without even triggering a change in my magic detection.
What kind of stealth is that?
[Hehehe]
Along with a gloomy laugh, the shadow wrapping the Apostle's body melted and flowed down like liquid.
The liquid shadow that touched the ground soon turned into a gas, and black smoke spread out.
As the smoke cleared, the appearance of the Chernobog Apostle was slightly different from before.
Perhaps due to the influence of Chernobog's descent, her eyes had turned into inverted eyes, and her clothes and hair wriggled like shadows.
[I-I was planning to surprise you... but I got caught.]
[Remember the years we have fought. Did you think I wouldn't notice?]
[N-nooo? B-but I thought I could surprise the dragonnn.]
[Do I have to accommodate such things for you? More importantly, you should decide too. Do you intend to fight that dragon as is?]
[N-no wayyy. There's no way I'd fight such a, a monstrous dragon, right?]
Whether that was just her way of speaking, Chernobog stuttered like someone who was nervous, and Belobog conversed with her naturally.
Fortunately, Chernobog also didn't seem to have any intention of fighting me.
Chernobog waved her hands, showing a negative reaction to the question of whether she would fight.
However, unlike her words of refusal, her face was grinning.
[You're always so fickle, that's why. Anyway, if you have no intention of fighting anymore, there's no need to maintain this battlefield.]
[W-what are you sayinggg. You uninvited guest.]
"Wait. What do you mean by uninvited guest?"
I interrupted their conversation.
Maintaining the battlefield, and an uninvited guest.
Because judging by their conversation, it seemed they knew about this Gate.
[Ah, y-you wouldn't knowww. I-I just came to r-retrieve my Holy Relic, but that guy interfered.]
"Holy Relic?"
[Yup. I was so s-surprised because my Holy Relic was suddenly detected in another dimension.]
[Do you know how surprised I was when you suddenly invaded another dimension?]
[I-it wasn't an invasion, I was just trying to retrieve it.]
Chernobog said, making a tearful face as if it really wasn't the case.
However, despite her expression of being wronged, Belobog glared at Chernobog with a stern face.
[Do you expect me to believe that? I don't know if the Holy Relic was really there or not, but even if you only came to retrieve it, you aren't the type to just back down after coming all this way.]
[W-well, just a little? I was just going to have a taste.]
[See? With your personality, there's no way you'd just back down.]
The two bickered like that for a while.
As expected of the God of Light and the God of Darkness, they seemed to have such a bad relationship that one could call them sworn enemies.
While the two were arguing, I thought about the information I had heard from them.
The Holy Relic Chernobog mentioned.
That must surely be the Holy Relic Baba Yaga promised to give Koschei.
If so, this Gate is, as expected, a trap set by Baba Yaga.
If it is indeed a trap, it's a good thing I didn't choose either side.
Looking ahead, in the short time I was organizing my thoughts, the argument between the two had become so intense that they were about to resort to force.
I cut into the middle of the two, who were arguing more and more intensely.
[What do you think life is! Do you have any idea how many lives have been lost to your amusement and games until now...]
[Don't be so uptight just because I played around with things that were going to die anyway-]
"Wait, wait. That's enough. If you two intend to fight here, I'll kill you both myself."
Perhaps it's because they know well that merely descending into an Apostle isn't enough to be a match for me.
Only then did the two gods stop arguing and look at me.
They seemed to have complaints, but they didn't express them outwardly.
"Chernobog. Can you track that Holy Relic?"
[I-it was definitely detected here. B-but I can't feel it now.]
"Or do you know about the name Baba Yaga?"
[Baba Yaga? N-no.]
[Baba Yaga. Hmm... Ah! Are you talking about that witch?]
I thought Chernobog might know about Baba Yaga since she had the Holy Relic, but she reacted as if she really didn't know, and instead, Belobog reacted as if he knew upon hearing the name.
Judging by him calling her a witch, does he really know her?
I demanded a detailed explanation from Belobog.
[Baba Yaga. I don't know the details about that wicked witch. But the reason I know about her is because of that one.]
[M-me?]
[Yes. The Holy Relics you scattered everywhere randomly just for fun. Who do you think was dealing with them behind the scenes?]
According to Belobog's explanation, Chernobog had been periodically scattering Holy Relics that stimulate human desire and darkness for her own amusement for a long time.
And one of them ended up in the hands of a witch named Baba Yaga, and the church where Belobog is a god had been monitoring her.
Why is it in the past tense?
[She disappeared decades ago, her trail went cold, and she never reappeared, so I thought she was dead... I never imagined she had crossed over to another dimension.]
[B-but why did she use my H-Holy Relic that she had been hiding so well?]
"That seems to be my fault."
Just as Belobog explained what he knew about Baba Yaga, I also roughly explained Baba Yaga, Koschei, the incident they caused, and the process by which I resolved it.
Hearing my explanation, Belobog nodded with a frown, as if he understood, but also as if he didn't like it regardless.
[So they wish to cast off their mortal shells. I can understand why they would plot such a thing for revenge, having set the time and ritual only to be interrupted. But a ritual using human sacrifice is unforgivable.]
[They plotted something f-fun. T-though I can't forgive them for using me.]
The two were the same in their dislike of Baba Yaga, though for different reasons.
Thinking it worked out well, I looked at Chernobog and asked.
"Baba Yaga's location. Can you track it?"
Chernobog grinned and nodded, as if responding to my expectations.